Snyder sets a better example

I think everyone needs to give some credit to Al Snyder. The man from Westminster, Md., has said publicly that the Rev. Fred Phelps of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church should be allowed to die and be buried in peace.

That’s far more courtesy than Phelps gave Snyder’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matt Snyder, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. Phelps chose to picket at the Marine’s funeral and resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that Phelps and his misguided band of followers could picket and protest using hate as their eulogy.

Phelps died earlier this week. I usually think that people — no matter how poorly they behave in life — deserve a burial with dignity. I’ll have to confess that in the case of Fred Phelps I’m kind of rooting for a protest.

But then I think of Al Snyder, a man who endured so much pain because of the death of his son and then because of the protest spearheaded by Phelps and the ensuing court case. I find it somewhat ironic that a man supposedly serving God is getting the compassion from one of his victims that Phelps himself didn’t grant during his life.

As I’ve shared with you all before, I had a personal history with Phelps. While serving as an editor at the University of Kansas, Phelps sent a fax to our newsroom every Friday for at least two years. Each one included illustrations and written words that derided gay men and women, the U.S. government and the media in general.

I can remember vividly some of the things he said in those faxes, sent from Phelps’ church up the road in Topeka, Kan. They were vile. They spewed hatred. They were most certainly not Christian in nature.

Phelps got a twisted view on things when someone set off an explosive device outside his church. He blamed the U.S. government and somehow linked his distrust of government to gay men and women. He protested funerals of people who died of AIDS and later U.S. troops who died on duty.

Signs his followers carried outside those funerals included slurs but also such slogans as “God Hates You” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

I have to admit my initial thoughts upon hearing about Phelps being placed in hospice care at the age of 84 was “good.” I’m ashamed to say that. It goes against everything I’ve been taught about loving everyone.

I just found it difficult to love a man who hated so many people for such irrational reasons.

But then I think of Al Snyder — a man who already lost so much but who is willing to grant Phelps the peace that the leader of Westboro Baptist Church wouldn’t grant to anyone else.

I seriously doubt that Phelps’ death will end the run-ins with Westboro Baptist Church. The man tainted his children’s minds, and they likely will keep up his legacy, such that it is.

That makes me sad — until I think of Al Snyder, who helps me realize there are still examples of decent human beings in this world.

Contact Editor Todd Seifert at 674-6235, or via email at tseifert@thespectrum.com. Follow him on Twitter, @ToddSeifert.